Media
Advisory
February 20, 2004
For Immediate Release
Contact: Steve Popson
(919) 733-7450,
ext. 379 or Jeff Williford (919)
733-7450 ext. 302
WHAT: The skeleton of a 40-foot, female right whale, along with its fetus, will be delivered to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ Research Lab. The bones will be placed in an outdoor processing area, then covered with manure. Insects, attracted by the manure, will clean the flesh from the whale bones in a process that will last from six weeks to two months.
WHEN: Monday, February 23, between 9 and 11 am. For exact delivery time, call the above contacts early Monday morning.
WHERE: Museum Research Lab, 4301 Reedy Creek Rd. (off Blue Ridge Rd., look for Research Lab sign on the left side of Reedy Creek Rd.).
BACKGROUND: The Museum has acquired the body of a right whale, one of the most endangered species on the globe. Approximately 300 individuals remain, because the species has been hunted to near extinction. This specimen was carrying the fetus of a male calf at the time of her death. A boat fatally struck the whale’s skull and the carcass washed ashore in Nags Head, NC earlier this month.
The New England Aquarium has monitored and tracked this whale since 1980, making it a particularly rich research specimen. The skeleton is the fourth in the Museum’s right whale collection; this addition makes the Museum’s assemblage one of the largest collections of North Atlantic right whales in the world. Staff will clean and examine the skeleton to determine if it will remain a research specimen or if it is suitable for future exhibition.
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications, and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sun., noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the web at www.naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary.
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